Mon 1st December!
Still wearing shorts in December,
marvelous! We packed up, did some
shopping (included Xmas tree for €1.50 in Chinese bazaar) in Tarifa then headed
north up the coast to Zahora on the Costa de Luz. The scenery was still very
green and lush. We saw lots of fields with rows and rows of leeks. Still all
low rise buildings right down to the coast.
only low rise buildings
The site was very nice with big, relatively
open pitches below the tall pine trees. Most of the campers appeared to be
Brits but there was minimal “gardens” which was refreshing. A very friendly
bunch.
dam - wrong tyres
signs being swallowed whole!
After lunch we cycled along the coast about
3km to Cabo De Trafalgar, the famous sea battle took place offshore here in
1805. Nelson was mortally wounded and the rest as they say is all history. The road / causeway out to the island was
blocked by yet more drifting sand. We decided to revisit another day and walk
out.
Tues 2nd Dec
Today was sunny but with a cool north wind,
we scooted south from the site to Canos De Meca. This was a working town still
involved in the fishing industry. Bit scruffy so we continued to Zahara de los
Atunes. This used to be a gritty tuna fishing port but has been reinvented as a
holiday resort – sort of. Evidence of lots of new buildings but dead at this
time of year. Looked ok though unlike Alanterra further to the south. This was
a new build resort with golf advertised – bit of a problem, the course has yet
to be built. Rows and rows of apartment
blocks and hotels but no heart / focal point?
Almost completely empty.
bars all shut up for winter
We scooted back for lunch then returned to
Trafalgar beach. Scoot locked up we continued on foot out to the lighthouse.
Lots of boardwalks around the island and information signs. The only sign to
mention the happenings in 1805 was quite small and the text blamed the French
for the French/ Spanish being defeated!
Faro de Trafalgar
only sign
it happened a few km from here in 1805
We saw the remains of a RIB (rigid
inflatable boat) buried in the sand, apparently illegal immigrants come across
from Morocco in these and cut them up and then bury it to hide the evidence. We
had heard a Guardia Civil helicopter circling and were told on the campsite
that they were probably looking for the latest bunch of illegals!
Weds 3rd Dec
Sunny start so I went out on my road bike
to Barbate and back. The sky had turned black just as I returned – good timing.
20 mins of rain then more sunshine.
After a late lunch we scooted north to
Conil de la Frontera. The landscape was much flatter but still very green and
rural. Conil was ok with lots of small shops and bars actually open. Nice beach
front with a few vans parked up fro the night.
Thurs 4th
Lazy start then we cleaned out the van,
drained and refilled the water – I try to do tis every month to keep the tank
nice and clean. We left at midday and
headed north to Cadiz. We couldn’t resist a stop at Decathlon, our favourite
store for a browse. Sad but true………… J
We planned to stop in El Peurto de Santa
Maria which is a ferry ride away from Cadiz.
The wild camping spot looked a bit rough so we stayed in camping Las
Dunas all of 500m away. Nice open sunny pitches and very friendly staff. As we
were walking about we spotted the German couple we had parked beside in La
Linea when visiting Gibraltar. Yet another case of what a small world we live
in. they greeted us warmly and we chatted to them before setting up for the
night.
El Puerto de Santa Maria
Nice to see some sunshine. All gloomy winter here in UK, with weather cycling continuously from 'warm, wet & cloudy' to 'cold, dry & bright'. Looks from your photos like they gave up trying to clear the sand off the roads. We could do with some on Lowestoft beach if they have any spare . . .
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